Hosiery



Feb. 29, 1944. E H sEPEssY 2,342,974

HosIERY I I Filed Sept. 19, 1942 n INVENTOR, I ER/KA H. sEPEssK Arriola/5K PatentedFeb. 29, e 1944 HosmmzA nimmr n. sepem, Surinam, cani.

Application SeP 'This invention relates to hosiery and more par' ticularly to hosiery -havi'ng a tapey at the top thereof 'for attaching' 1a garter -andconforming the top of the hose to-the thigh portionoftheI leg of the wearer, and also I preventingsc-called runs in textile ',hose.

It is well known that therev is a5 present vogue in hosiery demanding a s'he'er'textile fabric woven of finely spun threadsuch as sill;` orsynthetic substitute products such as. nylon, rayon, and the like. y

In this type of hose, especially the long type I ordinarily used by women, the upperor topportion is formed by foldilig the textile material upon itself and providing a woven or'stitched circumferential seam to fasten'the edge ofthe infolde'd portion to the leg portion of thel hose.v

The upper portion of double thicknessof material is'generally referred to as the top ofthe hose,

I' fits double thickness providing reinforcement to withstand stretching about the thigh of the wearer, and having sufficient tensile strength to withstand pull of a corset garter attached thereto. However, in rder to prevent bagging of the hose at and abover the knee, the f top portion of the hose is made to flt with considerable tightness about the thigh Vand frequently is uncomfortable inits binding eifect on the leg. Also, hose'in the commercial market must be made in standardized sizes,`whereas it maybe assumed that the thighs of women vary substantiallyV in cir y cumference; also, the muscle of the thigh will vary in circumference as' different positions of posture,such as in standing vor sitting position,

and the stress of garter anchorage will ,likewise vary in different postures. s by wear and stretch from anchoring of a garter `cause strainsonthe top fold portions of the hose and upon the single layer or sheer fabric in .the adjoining portion of the leg, resulting in the breaking of one' or more threads'in the sheer portion and thereby starting a so-called run in the leg portion of the hose. Due to the continu- `ous lengthwise weave of the yarn, the run will quickly extend the entire length of the hose.

Therefore, among the objects'of this inveniton are to provide means to adjust the binding eifect of the top portion of hose,circumferentially of the' thigh of the wearer; to provide a means for attachment of a garter to the top portion of hose for spreading the stress on the hose; to providea circumferential adjustment of the top portion of-'hose to varying positions of posture; to

eliminate bagging of hose at the upper portion due to stretchingofthe top yportions thereof; to.

@aber 19,1942, serai iva/458,981

Both the stretching reduce the likelihood `of runs from breakin" threads inor adjacent to the upper portion or' textile'hose. v With the foregoing and other objects in viewv 5 ,one form which the inventionmay take is eml. bodied ln the following-description and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, it being understood that changes in form, size, proportion, and'minor appended claim.- withoutdeparting' from the spirit orsacriflcing: any of the advantages `of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing of anl embodi- ,ment of the invention, Fig'. lisa rearfelevational view c hose illustrating the invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevationalv view of'iose being worn, with the.wear er in standing' position.

Fig. 3 is' a bottom View of hose being worn,

with wearer inal seated position.y

section through the fold, seamand' tape-'element at line 4 4 of Fig. 1'.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse section of an alternate'modied form' of tape womans hose or Vstocking of textile material lsuch as silk, rayon, nylonflace, lisle cotton or other suitable'materials, many of which are well known A40 in the hosiery art., However, there'is a vogue in the present day for sheer translucent hose, and

. since that type is more susceptible to runs-the invention is especially adapted to this sheer type of woven fabric. I

alongltudlnal seam Il where edges of the woven leg portion are joined, the seam being worn atv the rear of the leg of thewearer. For the pur' poses of this` descriptiongthe hose may be segregated into three portions, the foot l2, leg I3, and

top H. The invention pertains particularly to 7thetop I4. .f

In manufacture of this type of hose, the top I4 is usually -of .two layers, one being afcontinuation of theleg Il as at'll'c, andthe other being details, may be made within the scope of-the'` Fig. 4 ist-an enlarged. fragmentarytransversev form of hose blank for employment ofthe inven- Fig.- 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of hose Referring to the' drawing-m which1 like char- Usually, tubulartextile hose of these types have folded over upon itself'as at IIb, and connected by a circumferential seam I which may be woven or stitched. The top portion Il is provided with an opening I8 formed therein, preferably of V-shape which is open at the free edge of the top Il and converges downwardly toward the circumferential seam l5. The V-shaped opening may be woven to that form, or be formed by slitting the hose at the rear longitudinal seam Il, and removing a portion of the textile material. In either manner'of forming the V-shaped opening, the edges 'are suitably finished to prevent raveling. Spanning across the top of the V-shaped opening, is a tapev l1 which may have the characteristic of elasticity, butA at the present time, due to the shortage of rubber, it is alternately preferred to employ a textile tape approximately three-eighths of an inch in width, though wider or narrower tape may also be employed. 'I'he tape is secured at each of its ends to the upper edge portion of the top Il adjacent the terminals of the legs of the V-shaped opening I6. It is preferred that the tape also extend continuously around the periphery of the V-shaped opening as at I8 for purposes of reinforcement and to place evenly distributed stress throughout the top portion of the hose when it is being worn. The tape may be secured to the edges of the V-shaped opening in any suitable manner. Where the V -shaped opening is woven into the hose, the tape may be overlaid thereon adjacent the edge and stitched thereto, whereas if the V-shaped opening is formed by a cut-out of material, the edges of the hose material may be infolded as in Fig. 5, enclosing the tape portion I8 which is maintained by stitching as at I9. It is to be noted that one purpose of the tape at the open top of the V is for the attachment thereto of a garter 2li from a corset or foundation garment. It is also to be observed that when a person i's in a standing posture, the muscle of the thigh is longitudinally stretched, whereas in a sitting posture the same muscle is contracted in length. Therefore, when a person is seated, the thigh is of a greater circumference than when the person is standing. This would normally stretch the weave of the fabric at the top portion I4 and cause a bagging or looseness at the top and at the knee portion adjacent thereto. But in the present invention, the top portion is permitted to enlarge in dlameter by the spreading ofthe V-shaped opening, thus relieving stress on the top portion of the hose when the thigh is thus enlarged. When a wearer is in a standing posture, the garter attached to tape portion i1 pulls upward on the tape portion il, and thus narrows the opening of the V, causing the hose top to conform to the lesser diameter of the thigh, and thereby maintaining a comfortably tight, neat fit of the hose top about the thigh at all postures, and eliminating liability to bagglness thereof; such expansion and contraction of the opening also serving to eliminate the binding effect which may be uncomfortable or impede circulation. In addition, because of tlfe tensional stress on the top portion of the hose of the usual type, runs will frequently happen from the breaking of a thread, whereas, in the present invention, the liability of breaking a thread of the sheer leg portion is reduced to a minimum, due to the elimination of strains and stresses at the top of the hosiery.

In Fig. 6 there is illustrated an alternate or modified exemplication of the invention in which a reinforced edge 2| of the V-shaped opening and the spanning tape are integrally more heavily woven into the body of the hose. Since there is usually a longitudinal seam at the rear of the hose as indicated at Il, the hose blank in the modification in Fig. 6, may be woven so as to provide the spanning tape or strap as a pair of tongues Ila, which, when the seam Il is brought together, will overlap; and when the top portion of the blank is folded on the fold line A, and V-shaped opening will be formed in the overlying layers of the top, with the overlappind tongues lla forming the spanning strap at the upper open end thereof. The edges of the V-shaped opening and the edges of the spanning strap may then be stitched.

In Fig. 7 a further modified form of the invention is illustrated, in which the edges of the V- shaped opening are reinforced by more heavily weaving the hose blank as at 2l, but in this modification, the strap or tape ilb is a separate member stitched at its ends llc to the hose blank, so that when the top portion is folded on the line B, a V-shaped opening will be provided at the edge of the hose which will be spanned by the tape or strap |1b, as shown in Fig. 8, the overlying edges of the V-shaped opening and the edges of the tape being stitched as at 22.

The edges of the V-shaped opening and the' strap or tape of the modification of Fig. 6, may also be stitched in like manner as in Fig. 8, when the two layers Ila and Hb are folded to overlying relation to form `a hose top Il.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A tubular hose having foot and leg portions, and having a top portion attached to the leg portion, the top portion comprising a tubular textile fabric body having an opening at the rear 'of the free edge thereof, said opening extending from said free edge and converging longitudinally downwardly, and a tape secured to the hose along the marginal edge of the sides of the opening, and said tape spanning the open top of the opening and having fixed attachment to the opposite ends of the free edge of the hose at said opening. s

2. As an article of manufacture, a textile tubular hose having a leg portion and a top portion, the top portion consisting ofV a plurality of layers of textile material overlayed upon itself, said top portion havinga V-shaped 'pening at its rear and extending from the upper free edge thereof and converging longitudinally downwardly, and a tape fixedly secured to the hose continuously around and adjacent to the marginal edge of the V-shaped opening and spanning the top thereof.

3. As an article of manufacture, a tubular hose having a foot and leg portion, and a top portion attached to the leg portion, the top portion comprising a textile fabric body having a V-shaped openingA at its rear and extending from the upper free edge thereof and converging longitudinally downwardly, and a tape secured to the hose continuously around and adjacent to the marginal edge of the V-shaped opening and spanning the open top thereof, the tape portion along the V-shaped opening of the hose being enclosed within a fold of the fabric material adjacent to the 'edge of said opening.

4. An article of wearing apparel comprising a tubular fabric hose having foot and leg portions and a top portion attached to the leg portion, said top portion comprising a tubular texbeing adapted for attachment thereto of a garbetween. and xedly secured to the upper ends of said downwardly ezlrtendins strips, said tape 10 ter` of a body garment Whe'rebyvarlations of tension of the garter on the tape may alternately draw tlrlel upper ends of the downwardly extending strip toward each other or permit them to spread responsive to' expansionl and contraction of the circumference vof the engaged leg portion of the wearer.

l 5ERIKA H. SEPESSY. 

